Mayor's Hope Journal

Namsan Botanical Garden[Mayor Park Won Soon's Hope Journal 244]

11/28/2013SMG803

Do you remember the botanical
garden that used to be located in Namsan (Mountain)? The place that served
as a treasure trove of thousands of plant species disappeared in history as
part of the campaign to remove concrete structures from Namsan. I think Seoul
needs to have a botanical garden that contributes to the maintenance of
diversity of plant species and serves as a resting place for urban
dwellers.

This month (August
2013), we at Seoul Metropolitan Government established a plan to build a
botanical park in a site in Magok, which was originally set as the site for a
public park. The area is about twice as large as Yeouido Park, and the work
will be completed by 2016. The place will feature a botanical garden, a forest,
a lake, and a stream flowing through it. The place will be a grand park along
with nearby Gungsan Mountain, Seonam Sewage Treatment Center, and Gangseo Swamp
Park. A wide area growing diverse plant species will help people enhance their
mental health.

The botanical park,
which aims to grow 10,000 plant species, will also serve as a place where
people discuss how to develop the gardening culture.

While studying in theUnited Kingdom, I paid a
visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall, a
six-hour ride from London.
As a botanical garden built in former clay mine, it helped rejuv…